ELECTRO-OPTICAL MEASUREMENT OF HYSTERESIS IN INTERFEROMETRIC MODULATORS
First Claim
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1. A method of determining electrical parameters for driving a plurality of interferometric modulators, comprising:
- applying a time-varying voltage stimulus to the interferometric modulators, wherein the time-varying voltage stimulus includes voltages high enough to cause a positive going actuation of the interferometric modulators and voltages low enough to cause a negative going actuation of the interferometric modulators;
detecting reflectivity of light from the interferometric modulators; and
determining one or more electrical parameters from said reflectivity of light in response to said time-varying voltage stimulus, the electrical parameters indicative of electrical parameters sufficient to cause a change in state of the interferometric modulators.
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Abstract
Disclosed herein are methods and apparatus for testing interferometric modulators. The interferometric modulators may be tested by applying a time-varying voltage stimulus and measuring the resulting reflectivity from the modulators.
29 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method of determining electrical parameters for driving a plurality of interferometric modulators, comprising:
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applying a time-varying voltage stimulus to the interferometric modulators, wherein the time-varying voltage stimulus includes voltages high enough to cause a positive going actuation of the interferometric modulators and voltages low enough to cause a negative going actuation of the interferometric modulators; detecting reflectivity of light from the interferometric modulators; and determining one or more electrical parameters from said reflectivity of light in response to said time-varying voltage stimulus, the electrical parameters indicative of electrical parameters sufficient to cause a change in state of the interferometric modulators. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of testing a plurality of interferometric modulator structures, comprising:
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applying a time-varying voltage waveform to the interferometric modulators, wherein the time-varying voltage waveform includes voltages high enough to cause a positive going actuation of the interferometric modulators and voltages low enough to cause a negative going actuation of the interferometric modulators; detecting reflectivity of light from the interferometric modulators; determining reflectivity of light as a function of voltage; and identifying the plurality of interferometric modulators as of sufficient quality for use in a display based on said determining. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for testing a plurality of interferometric modulators, comprising:
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an illumination source adapted to provide incident light to a plurality of interferometric modulators; a voltage source adapted to apply enough voltage to the interferometric modulators so as to induce a positive-going actuation and a negative-going actuation; and an optical detector adapted to detect light reflected from the plurality of interferometric modulators. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of testing a plurality of interferometric modulators, comprising:
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applying a time-varying voltage waveform to the interferometric modulators, wherein the time-varying voltage waveform includes voltages high enough to cause a positive going actuation of the interferometric modulators and voltages low enough to cause a negative going actuation of the interferometric modulators; detecting reflectivity of light from the interferometric modulators; repeating said applying and detecting steps one or more times; averaging at least a portion of the detected reflectivity; and determining one or more electrical parameters from said averaged reflectivity.
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23. A method of testing a color interferometric modulator display, the display comprising a plurality of sub-pixel types, each sub-pixel type corresponding to a different color, the method comprising:
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applying a time-varying voltage waveform to one sub-pixel type, wherein the time-varying voltage waveform includes voltages high enough to cause a positive going actuation of interferometric modulators in the display and voltages low enough to cause a negative going actuation of interferometric modulators in the display; detecting reflectivity of light from said sub-pixel type; determining one or more electrical parameters from said detecting; and repeating said applying, detecting, and determining steps for another sub-pixel type.
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24. A system for testing a plurality of interferometric modulators, comprising:
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a means for applying a time-varying voltage waveform to the interferometric modulators, wherein the time-varying voltage waveform includes voltages high enough to cause a positive going actuation of the interferometric modulators and voltages low enough to cause a negative going actuation of the interferometric modulators; a means for detecting reflectivity of light from the interferometric modulators; and a means for determining one or more parameters based on said detected reflectivity. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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Specification